The Hidden Life of Trees: The International Bestseller

Calmer air meant less water evaporated. More water allowed the beeches to prosper, and one day they grew up and over the tops of the pines.

the population grew until today it is up to five times its natural level. German-speaking regions have one of the highest concentrations of herbivores in the world, so small beeches are finding it harder than ever to survive. And forestry is restricting their spread, as well.

This ability to produce different compounds is another feature that helps trees fend off attack for a while.

for the place where a seed happens to end up often turns out to be highly unsuitable.

Today, hardly any coal is being formed because forests are constantly being cleared, thanks to modern forest management practices (aka logging).

As soon as the climate warms up and becomes more Mediterranean, these trees are going to have a hard time. They can’t tolerate constantly hot, dry summers and bitterly cold winters, and they will have to step aside for other species, such as oaks.

However, the character of forest fires in North America has been changed by naturally increasing drought conditions and the human practice of fire suppression, and forests that would once have survived, or even thrived, in the face of fire are now threatened by its destructive force.

Some trees appear to have chosen the banana as a model for their trunks. The lower part sticks out at an angle, and then the trunk seems to have taken a while to orient itself vertically.

The redirected power of a windstorm can tear at the base of the trunk with a force equivalent to a weight of 220 tons.